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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27552256">Smiling</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThaneZain/pseuds/ThaneZain'>ThaneZain</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>it's a Fallen London/Minecraft Youtube au [13]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fallen London | Echo Bazaar, Minecraft (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>BIG SPOILERS FOR Fallen London STORYLINE, EDIT: JACK OF SMILES SPOILERS, George works for the admiralty and has the corresponding dark glasses :), NO im not tagging bad's real name, bbh is a devil who goes by halo, jack of smiles is a thing, no apologies for his accent, sapnap is THE most irritating zailor wannabe, this is not real person fiction</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 18:20:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,792</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27552256</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThaneZain/pseuds/ThaneZain</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Dream returns home after a romp as the body-swapping serial killer himself: Jack-of-Smiles. The very next day he learns that the true nature of Jack has been discovered, which prompts an interesting idea.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>it's a Fallen London/Minecraft Youtube au [13]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1717144</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Smiling</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>WHADDUP DREAM TEAM FANDOM WELCOME TO FALLEN LONDON AU<br/>No particular warnings other than blood/murder talk and sliiiight possession? ish? hard to explain<br/>oh also obligatory spoiler warning for a big storyline in Fallen London</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Eauhgh,” was the approximation of the noise Dream made when he regained consciousness. He raised his hands to eye level and stared blearily at them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Huh. Blood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not expected, but not surprising.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Distantly, he realized someone was talking to him. If he concentrated, he could just make out the words through the ringing in his ears.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“—</span>
  <em>
    <span>told </span>
  </em>
  <span>you to stay away from Spite, you keep ending up back here because you went on a rampage </span>
  <em>
    <span>again.</span>
  </em>
  <span> You </span>
  <em>
    <span>need</span>
  </em>
  <span> to figure out how to stop being Smiles so often!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“M’name’s not Smiles,” Dream mumbled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, so you’re awake,” Halo scoffed. Dream made an approximation of rolling his eyes. “Glad you could rejoin the realm of the not-Jacks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dream groaned and pushed himself upright. It was then he discovered that it wasn’t just his hands that were bloody. When he squinted down at his shirt, he found himself absolutely </span>
  <em>
    <span>covered </span>
  </em>
  <span>in rust-colored stains.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fantastic.</span>
</p><p><span>“George’s trying to bail you out. This is the second time this month!” Halo snapped. “I’m thinking about putting you in quarantine because this is ridiculous!”</span><span><br/>
</span> <span>Dream squinted at Halo through the bars. His pale yellow eyes were narrowed with frustration and his arms were crossed. He was tapping his foot impatiently and leveling Dream with an exasperated glare. Dream gave him a casual wave and Halo huffed.</span></p><p>
  <span>There was a quick knock and without waiting for a reply George entered. “Got him out,” he said, waving a key. Halo stepped aside and allowed George to unlock Dream’s cell. George grabbed Dream’s arm and yanked him to his feet, wrinkling his nose as the blood rubbed off on his silk gloves. Dream wobbled on his feet, legs feeling rubbery. His eyesight went in and out of focus and his head felt like it’d been stuffed full of cotton but he managed to navigate out of the cell with the help of George’s guiding hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>George and Halo ushered Dream into a transport dirigible headed for London. New Newgate was constructed in a large stalactite so as to minimize escapees, but Dream had heard stories. Still, he'd never been able to escape as that would make it more difficult to get bailed out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ride down was pervaded by tense silence as George navigated toward the dirigible dock. From there Dream was bundled into an unmarked, shuttered hansom headed for home.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dream swam in and out of consciousness like a particularly aquatic bat. He could tell distantly he was trying to smile but put a lot of effort into not letting it show. Being Jack was draining, and if he wasn’t as physically fit as he was then he might have been bedridden. Jack had a tendency to move in ways the human body really didn't want to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, there’z the man of the hour,” Sapnap drawled as Dream stumbled into the flat. He was putting on the nautical z a bit hard today. “How many waz it this time? Four? Five?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Six, actually,” George sniffed. “No one was permanently killed, though. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Luckily.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damn, Dream, I’m zurprised at you! With all this practice you should have gotten better by now!” Sapnap said, tutting with disappointment.</span>
</p><p><span>“No, he shouldn’t have gotten better!” Halo snapped. “There’s only so many times George can get him out! At this rate he’ll get suspended and then where will we be?”</span><span><br/>
</span> <span>Sapnap grinned and laced his hands behind his head. “You’ll go to Hell, George and Dream will go to New Newgate, but I’m all in the clear.”</span></p><p>
  <span>George leaned forward, a gleam in his eye behind his dark glasses. “We all know you’ll end up in the gutter with a pair of scarlet stockings tied around your neck—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut </span>
  <em>
    <span>up</span>
  </em>
  <span> you two!” Halo yelled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dream lost his balance and just managed to collapse into a nearby chair. Being Jack always drained him, but a ghost of a smile touched his lips. It always happened near one of three cutlers on Spite, and Dream had his hunches about what caused it. Despite his friends’ warnings, he kept returning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dream had been Jack a total of eight times and had an extensive kill count. Each time he was caught he somehow managed to avoid the typical Jack treatment of total evisceration by the constabulary and ended up in New Newgate in a maximum security cell. George threw his weight around at the Admiralty and managed to get him out, but Dream could tell that his patience was wearing thin. Sapnap found it incredibly amusing and did anything but discourage this habit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The next day, Dream went out for a walk after swearing up and down to Halo that he wouldn’t go near Spite markets. He didn’t even plan on it, as he tried to space out murdering sprees. It only took him a few blocks to notice the excited whispers dancing through the street.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have you heard the news?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s all anyone’s talking about!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you believe?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The streets were alive with chatter. Dream grabbed a passerby on the street, a young rake with a grin too wide for his face. “You don’t know? The Jack case has been solved!” The man ran off whooping, as joyous as he would be on his wedding day. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dream’s heart dropped, which wasn’t the logical response by far. He should be happy about this! Jack had caused the deaths and permanent deaths of hundreds of people. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But there was something about the news that made Dream feel like he was going to shrivel. He walked home fast, avoiding eye contact with other passersby.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he got back to the cramped rooms he called home, his friends were waiting in the front room. George gleefully looked up from the newspaper he was reading when he heard Dream enter. “Sounds like you won’t be</span>
  <em>
    <span> smiling </span>
  </em>
  <span>any time soon,” he said with a snicker, throwing the newspaper at Dream’s chest. Dream caught it and rolled his eyes as Sapnap burst out laughing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not funny,” Halo sniffed. “Humanity won a war against a terrible adversary and all you can do is make fun of Dream’s adrenaline addiction.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sapnap laughed harder. “And you say </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>have issues!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dream huffed and left the room. It wasn’t a huge loss. He’d only been Jack...eight times…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sighed and fell backwards onto his cot. Despite George’s decent salary, he was the only one making consistent money so their living situation wasn’t fantastic. Dream unfolded the newspaper and glanced at the headline, accompanied by a large portrait of a grinning detective.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>DETECTIVE DISCOVERS JACK-OF-SMILES PLOT</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dream skimmed the article. Apparently some hotshot up-and-coming detective had on a whim decided he wanted to solve the Jack case. He’d found out with the help of some amateur writer that Jack-of-Smiles was a collection of sentient knives that had been continuously imported into London by some corporation for the purpose of inspiring penny dreadfuls. Or something. Dream didn’t particularly care.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least his suspicions were confirmed. All he had to do when he wanted to become Jack was wander around the cutlery corner of Spite market for a while and pick out a nice knife. Sometimes a couple.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The article ended with a statement by the head constable, some Swedish guy Dream had never met. Apparently the knives were still in circulation, and they would be an ongoing problem in London. However, there would be a special squad for hunting down Jacks and apprehending them, so as to minimize risk of transmission to others.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dream let the newspaper fall onto his face. He always had the Rings to fall back on, and he could always go to zee if only to rub it in Sapnap’s face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Or...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He leapt up from his cot, dashing back into the front room. “Guys! Guys, I had an idea. So you know how I have a…penchant for becoming Jack? I could do it on purpose!” Dream grinned like he’d just solved the world’s greatest mystery.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Halo raised an eyebrow. “How. In the Name. Of the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Four. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Is that a good idea,” he said flatly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dream held up his hands. “No, no, you got it wrong. Jack isn’t gone, he’s in the knives. And the knives will still be produced and come into London, let alone the ones already in circulation, the only thing </span>
  <em>
    <span>solved </span>
  </em>
  <span>was what caused people to become Jack. People will still have to deal with them! So I could offer myself as training for the constabulary and for regular citizens. Let them hunt me down! Or better yet, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>could!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, that might not be a bad idea,” Sapnap said, tapping his chin thoughtfully. He seemed to enjoy the idea of hunting Dream a little </span>
  <em>
    <span>too </span>
  </em>
  <span>much but Dream was too excited to care much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How can you encourage this?” Halo burst out. “This is not only dangerous, but it’s also selfish and </span>
  <em>
    <span>totally</span>
  </em>
  <span> irresponsible and—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aw, Halo, let the man zpeak! I’m interezted to zee what he haz to zay.” Sapnap smiled cheekily, the letter z doing a lot of legwork in his speech. Halo huffed in annoyance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s the perfect plan!” Dream said with enthusiasm. “You know me, you can tell the constabulary not to attack me, we can clear parts of Spite to minimize casualties, or even maybe go into the Marshes—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You really want to become Jack on </span>
  <em>
    <span>purpose?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Halo asked incredulously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you honestly think I </span>
  <em>
    <span>accidentally </span>
  </em>
  <span>picked up eight knives that led me on those rampages?” Dream scoffed. “It’s exhilarating! I’m still there, it’s still me, the knife just sort of…takes over for a bit. I get to sit back and watch the fun. I don’t remember it very well afterwards, but the adrenaline is just…” He sighed wishfully.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You could have </span>
  <em>
    <span>killed </span>
  </em>
  <span>people, Dream!” George said in horror.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I did! Just not permanently.” Dream couldn’t see why the rest of them were so hesitant. It was a great idea! He could train the next generation of constables to deal with Jacks and not to mention he was the perfect candidate! Physically fit to prove more of a challenge, familiar with how being Jack worked, it all checked out!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>George narrowed his eyes, considering. “Well…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look,” Dream said. “They’re starting a Jack squad anyway. How many ‘cured’ Jacks are there that they’d get experience with?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There have been rumors, but--” Halo cut himself off. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you might have a point.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It does make logical sense,” George said. “I might be able to bring it up at some point if I can talk with Constable Fleury. I hear she’s been in the hospital for a while, but she should be back on her feet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dream pumped his fist in celebration, already planning rooftop chases and creative hideouts.</span>
</p>
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